The present invention relates to programmable optical character generators and is more particularly concerned with a method and apparatus for programmably generating optical characters by acousto-optic interaction.
Modern information processing applications frequently require character generation systems capable of accommodating a stream of character information which changes at very high speeds. Programmable optical character generators are particularly well suited to such applications.
Various programmable optical character generation systems are known in the prior art, including both mechanical and acousto-optic types. A typical mechanical system employed in laser marking applications utilizes a plurality of character stencils circumferentially disposed about a wheel. To generate a particular character, the wheel must be rotated to bring the corresponding stencil into the path of a laser beam. Such mechanical systems are inherently slow and undesirably elaborate due to the nature of the stencil mechanism and are thus not suitable for many information processing tasks.
Acousto-optic character generation systems are not subject to the limitations of mechanical systems and are capable of achieving considerably higher speeds. This is particularly true in the case of multi-channel acousto-optic systems wherein different portions of a character are generated simultaneously. Unfortunately, the multi-channel systems heretofore proposed are generally quite complex, typically relying upon such techniques as output beam scanning or two-dimensional acousto-optic arrays. A need has thus remained for an acousto-optic character generator which is capable of attaining the high speeds required by modern information processing and which avoids the undue complexities and other disadvantages associated with the prior art. The present invention meets this need.